Gallery
View Gallery Archive View Area Galleries
Warning: Division by zero in /home/customer/www/swmnarts.org/public_html/wp-content/themes/theme1620/single-exhibit.php on line 29
Gallery Exhibit: Marjorie Nilssen
- Exhibit runs
- January 7 - February 26, 2016
- SMAC GALLERY
- 114 North Third Street, Marshall, MN
OPEN MONDAY – FRIDAY
8:00 AM – 12:00 NOON
1:00 PM – 4:30 PM*Artist Reception & Gallery Opening: Artist Reception on January 7, 2016 from 5-7 PM — with special music by CAROLINE KOSKA from 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Marjorie Nilssen
"My paintings are based on my life-long interest in color and texture," says Nilssen. "I have been working with wax and oil paint for the past five years and recently began a series of abstract faces and figures because I wanted to change my style. I believe that an artist's job is to constantly invent, challenge and push their work in new ways vs. repeating the same subject matter over and over again.
"These imaginary people are developed in a very spontaneous way by melting, scraping and painting, until the right face appears. Some faces appear quickly and others may take days or weeks to develop. Some of the panels have many layers of wax and oil paint that has been built up, scraped down, re-worked, etc.
"I use a propane torch, metal knives, beeswax, and oil paint to create each painting. I usually work on 3-4 paintings at a time. Frequently, I will re-melt and scrape old paintings to create new paintings in search of the 'right' imaginary portrait.
"I thoroughly enjoy watching the various personalities emerge and I plan to continue this series until I feel I am ready to move on to a new subject matter. Painting is a constant discovery for me and it is part of the joy of being an artist."
"These imaginary people are developed in a very spontaneous way by melting, scraping and painting, until the right face appears. Some faces appear quickly and others may take days or weeks to develop. Some of the panels have many layers of wax and oil paint that has been built up, scraped down, re-worked, etc.
"I use a propane torch, metal knives, beeswax, and oil paint to create each painting. I usually work on 3-4 paintings at a time. Frequently, I will re-melt and scrape old paintings to create new paintings in search of the 'right' imaginary portrait.
"I thoroughly enjoy watching the various personalities emerge and I plan to continue this series until I feel I am ready to move on to a new subject matter. Painting is a constant discovery for me and it is part of the joy of being an artist."
/>
Nilssen has an MA in Art from St. Cloud State University and teaches art at Ridgewater College in Willmar, where she loves "guiding students towards the discovery of their own inner creativity and how very important it is to create things with their hands in our computer-focused world."
To work on her own art, Nilssen rents a studio in an old car garage in Atwater, and calls it "a wonderful space [that] allows me the freedom to create paintings on a weekly basis."
Nilssen was born a first-generation Norwegian American in Willmar, MN, and still regularly visits family in Norway. She and her husband Bob Mattson, also an artist, live in New London on the Crow River with their cat, Maudi. "We both enjoy immersing ourselves in nature and spend many hours sitting out on our porch looking at the beauty of the world," says Nilssen. "This natural beauty continues to inspire my work as an artist."
Nilssen is also inspired by her husband, who challenges her artistically. "[Bob] made me realize that I should continue my life as an artist," she says. "This has been my goal ever since."
Nilssen was the recipient of an Individual Artist grant from the SW MN Arts Council in 2008 and 2013.
To work on her own art, Nilssen rents a studio in an old car garage in Atwater, and calls it "a wonderful space [that] allows me the freedom to create paintings on a weekly basis."
Nilssen was born a first-generation Norwegian American in Willmar, MN, and still regularly visits family in Norway. She and her husband Bob Mattson, also an artist, live in New London on the Crow River with their cat, Maudi. "We both enjoy immersing ourselves in nature and spend many hours sitting out on our porch looking at the beauty of the world," says Nilssen. "This natural beauty continues to inspire my work as an artist."
Nilssen is also inspired by her husband, who challenges her artistically. "[Bob] made me realize that I should continue my life as an artist," she says. "This has been my goal ever since."
Nilssen was the recipient of an Individual Artist grant from the SW MN Arts Council in 2008 and 2013.
